Dave Couston and his family run a small dairy and broad acre pasture farm in Stanhope, Northern Victoria. Dave grows fodder and silage both for his own herd and for sale. He also contract sows, cuts and bales during the season.

“ I had noticed the increase in use and the positive results being achieved by liquid fertilisers, in particular biological products, so I was keen to work them into my program this year”, said David.

“ Grow Green’s product range was fairly new to the market but I liked the concept that they were microbially active.

"With the tough drought conditions over the last few years, our paddocks were quite compacted, dry and depleted of nutrients. I felt it was important to get better aeration and nutrients into the soil to ensure a good season’s crop”.

Dave planted triticale (Krackerjack variety) over 6 hectares. He split the paddock into three strips, running 3 different programs of 2 hectares each to get a fair comparison.

Strip A had his normal fertiliser program (single super).

Strip B a combination of Grow Green and 50% of normal program.

Strip C was 100% Grow Green products only.

"I was a little concerned at the two leaf stage that program C (just Grow Green) was a little slower to take off and seemed a little behind. Once we got to the mid way point in July though, it was back on par. It was then that I first started to notice some improvements in the crop. The stem was thicker, the leaf colour a little more consistent, the root system was hairier with a nice broad spread”, said Dave.

“The crops are now only 4 to 6 weeks away from being harvested for hay. Each of the strips looks to be in excellent shape, but program C is starting to really shine. The leaf of the product is now 0.5 to 1.2 cm broader. The stem is noticeably thicker and the plant root system is broader with more structure. The overall health of the plant looks better.”

Dave believes he will yield more weight and volume off the Grow Green strip. His aim is to get up to 4.5 to 5 tonne a hectare which would be very good result.

Dave is now convinced of the benefits of using Grow Green’s products, in particular the new Microbe Plus range.

Dave has been one of the first to use this new product over a broad acre crop for both initial sowing and foliar application and he plans to expand the use immediately onto his summer crops this season.

“ I have been really impressed with the results so far and I’m delighted about improving my yield for a very reasonable cost. The Grow Green staff have also been supportive and focused on improving my profitability. That’s how they measure their own success… based on my improved results and soil conditions.”